1 year ago, scenes of horror emerged from Ukraine’s Bucha
FILE - Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks past the corpses of her husband and her brother, who were killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Municipal workers remove the body of a man in a house in Bucha, Ukraine, April 7, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A dog stands next to the body of an elderly woman killed at the entrance of her house in Bucha, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Bodies lie in a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building which according to residents has had no gas, water, electricity and heating for more than a month in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A man and child ride on a bicycle as bodies of civilians lie in the street in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed lies on the staircase of a building in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A dog passes near another dog that was killed in the courtyard of a house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Valentyna Nechyporenko, 77, mourns at the grave of her 47-year-old son Ruslan, during his funeral at the cemetery in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 18, 2022. Ruslan was killed by Russian army on March 17 while delivering humanitarian aid to his neighbours in the streets of Bucha. Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers last March 30 in Bucha, during his funeral in the cemetery of Mykulychi, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 16, 2022. Trubchaninova hitchhiked daily from her village to the shattered town of Bucha trying to bring her son’s body home for burial. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Policemen work to identify civilians who were killed during the Russian occupation in Bucha, Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, before sending the bodies to the morgue, April 6, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks past the corpses of her husband and her brother, who were killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks past the corpses of her husband and her brother, who were killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Municipal workers remove the body of a man in a house in Bucha, Ukraine, April 7, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Municipal workers remove the body of a man in a house in Bucha, Ukraine, April 7, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A dog stands next to the body of an elderly woman killed at the entrance of her house in Bucha, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A dog stands next to the body of an elderly woman killed at the entrance of her house in Bucha, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Bodies lie in a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Bodies lie in a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building which according to residents has had no gas, water, electricity and heating for more than a month in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building which according to residents has had no gas, water, electricity and heating for more than a month in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A man and child ride on a bicycle as bodies of civilians lie in the street in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A man and child ride on a bicycle as bodies of civilians lie in the street in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed lies on the staircase of a building in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - The body of a man who was killed lies on the staircase of a building in Bucha, Ukraine, April 3, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A dog passes near another dog that was killed in the courtyard of a house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - A dog passes near another dog that was killed in the courtyard of a house in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A family walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha, Ukraine, April 4, 2022. The scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago after it was retaken from Russian forces have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war. Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, more bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Valentyna Nechyporenko, 77, mourns at the grave of her 47-year-old son Ruslan, during his funeral at the cemetery in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 18, 2022. Ruslan was killed by Russian army on March 17 while delivering humanitarian aid to his neighbours in the streets of Bucha. Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
FILE - Valentyna Nechyporenko, 77, mourns at the grave of her 47-year-old son Ruslan, during his funeral at the cemetery in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 18, 2022. Ruslan was killed by Russian army on March 17 while delivering humanitarian aid to his neighbours in the streets of Bucha. Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers last March 30 in Bucha, during his funeral in the cemetery of Mykulychi, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 16, 2022. Trubchaninova hitchhiked daily from her village to the shattered town of Bucha trying to bring her son’s body home for burial. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers last March 30 in Bucha, during his funeral in the cemetery of Mykulychi, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 16, 2022. Trubchaninova hitchhiked daily from her village to the shattered town of Bucha trying to bring her son’s body home for burial. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Policemen work to identify civilians who were killed during the Russian occupation in Bucha, Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, before sending the bodies to the morgue, April 6, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
FILE - Policemen work to identify civilians who were killed during the Russian occupation in Bucha, Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, before sending the bodies to the morgue, April 6, 2022. On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian forces for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — The cratered roads have been repaved and the damaged houses are gradually being repaired. But the scenes that emerged from this town near Kyiv a year ago, after it was retaken from Russian forces, have indelibly linked its name to the savagery of war.
On the northwestern fringes of the Ukrainian capital, Bucha had been occupied by Russian troops for about a month, taken as they swept toward Kyiv at the start of the invasion of Ukraine that began in late February 2022. When they withdrew, they left behind scenes of horror.
Bodies of civilians lay where they had fallen, beside their bicycles, in their cars, on the sides of roads, in yards, buildings and homes.
“They were bodies of people in civilian clothing — women, old men, younger men” scattered in the streets, said Associated Press photographer Vadim Ghirda, one of the first journalists to enter Bucha right after the Russian withdrawal.
Many appeared to not have been dead for very long, looking almost as if they were sleeping, Ghirda said. Others seemed to have been executed, found with their hands tied behind their backs.
Over the next few days, AP photographers documented scenes of devastation in Bucha, where the events are being investigated as war crimes. Stunned residents emerged from their basements to find destroyed tanks and military vehicles littering the streets.
More bodies were found inside homes, others were unearthed from a mass grave. In the following weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children. Not all have been identified.
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